[dynamox]

Hello,

I have not purchased a new car in 17 years so I am doing my homework before I start negotiating with multiple dealers. What fees/taxes should i expect to see on the quote? I want to make sure they don't try to sneak stuff in. I live in Atlanta, GA. Thank you for the tips.

 

[shragae]

Expect a destination fee of around $800-900 dollars that isn't included in the MSRP price you're quoted. This is a fee the dealer pays Honda for shipping the car to them and they pass it right along to you.


:crying:

 

[mgldan]

The dealer I went with charged what I think is the bare minimum: destination fee of $895, documentation fee, sales tax, and an allowance for registration and title fees (they are supposed to refund in 45 days the amount they didn't need to spend). It's one of the reasons I chose them. No funny business.

In NY, the documentation fee is capped at $75 by state law. In NJ, it is not capped, and most dealers wanted to charge me $400-500.

Several NJ dealers I went to wanted to etch the windows with a randomly selected ID number (i.e., not the VIN, but some other number), for another $200. The claim was that this would save me on my insurance premium, as it might aid with theft recovery. When I called Geico and CSAA, neither cared about this etching. I urge you to call their bluff on this dealer add-on.

 

[hasarad]

The dealer I went with charged what I think is the bare minimum: destination fee of $895, documentation fee, sales tax, and an allowance for registration and title fees (they are supposed to refund in 45 days the amount they didn't need to spend). It's one of the reasons I chose them. No funny business.

In NY, the documentation fee is capped at $75 by state law. In NJ, it is not capped, and most dealers wanted to charge me $400-500.

Several NJ dealers I went to wanted to etch the windows with a randomly selected ID number (i.e., not the VIN, but some other number), for another $200. The claim was that this would save me on my insurance premium, as it might aid with theft recovery. When I called Geico and CSAA, neither cared about this etching. I urge you to call their bluff on this dealer add-on.

Totally accurate! Never pay for window etching. If they say it's on all their cars, threaten to walk away - they'll waive it. Along with destination, NJ does a four year registration unless you are transferring plates. As far as documentation fees, there is wiggle room. No dealer is going to let you walk over a couple hundred bucks. The extended warranty is up to you, and the price and terms seem to be negotiable. The hybrid system and batteries are guaranteed longer then the standard 3/36 Honda warranty. I'm bought the extended 7yr/100K Hondacare for a little over $1000 for peace of mind since this is a new model.

 

[Verdier]

Get price quotes from these dealers via the Internet!! Type in Google the car you want to buy and at some point at one if the car selling sites it will ask where you live and you can open a Google email if you're afraid of spam. The dealers in the area will usually fight like dogs giving you the internet price. If you like go to a dealer for a test drive but don't negotiate prices, just ask questions, take their cards and contact the dealers for their internet price. By making their market managers send me prices via email I could tell who wanted to sell the car and who wanted to add glass etching crap to a car sale. Doing this I had $2000 discount on the touring almost immediately without being hassled and without trying to fight for it. I was going to do it but I decided to send a final email to a dealership that was a bit farther away I hadn't talked to. The internet sales lead called me on the phone and after all my research I was able to tell him I'm buying this car and I want your best internet deal you can give me. 30 minutes later I got $3000 off cost, lowest doc fees , the color I wanted without having to pay a fee for them to go get it from another dealer as a swap, and no glass etching crap. I'm pretty sure they didn't make much if anything on the car but I bought the extended warranty and some accessories and everyone seemed happy. About the warranty, tell them you're insured through GEICO and they offer a warranty for 100 dollars a year on new cars for 100,000 miles with 250 deductable. Using this they will offer Honda care and they will increase the years and miles and waive any deductibles until you relent. Hemm an haww... They make a lot of money on these warranties and if they think you'll walk out without it and you have a viable alternative warranty to wave in their face they'll budge. Keep in mind this is my first new car purchase (I'm 49) and possibly my last and as tough as I come off in person, I can't negotiate and i hate confrontations. Use the internet!!!! I was spammed in my email for a short time with Auto insurance offers etcetera, but after I bought the car they stopped very quickly. Don't walk in cold and don't negotiate with a salesperson and know what you want. Happy hunting! Whew!

 

[J. Bond]

Vernier, solid advice! Thanks for posting it.

 

[Appraiserman714]

Get price quotes from these dealers via the Internet!! Type in Google the car you want to buy and at some point at one if the car selling sites it will ask where you live and you can open a Google email if you're afraid of spam. The dealers in the area will usually fight like dogs giving you the internet price. If you like go to a dealer for a test drive but don't negotiate prices, just ask questions, take their cards and contact the dealers for their internet price. By making their market managers send me prices via email I could tell who wanted to sell the car and who wanted to add glass etching crap to a car sale. Doing this I had $2000 discount on the touring almost immediately without being hassled and without trying to fight for it. I was going to do it but I decided to send a final email to a dealership that was a bit farther away I hadn't talked to. The internet sales lead called me on the phone and after all my research I was able to tell him I'm buying this car and I want your best internet deal you can give me. 30 minutes later I got $3000 off cost, lowest doc fees , the color I wanted without having to pay a fee for them to go get it from another dealer as a swap, and no glass etching crap. I'm pretty sure they didn't make much if anything on the car but I bought the extended warranty and some accessories and everyone seemed happy. About the warranty, tell them you're insured through GEICO and they offer a warranty for 100 dollars a year on new cars for 100,000 miles with 250 deductable. Using this they will offer Honda care and they will increase the years and miles and waive any deductibles until you relent. Hemm an haww... They make a lot of money on these warranties and if they think you'll walk out without it and you have a viable alternative warranty to wave in their face they'll budge. Keep in mind this is my first new car purchase (I'm 49) and possibly my last and as tough as I come off in person, I can't negotiate and i hate confrontations. Use the internet!!!! I was spammed in my email for a short time with Auto insurance offers etcetera, but after I bought the car they stopped very quickly. Don't walk in cold and don't negotiate with a salesperson and know what you want. Happy hunting! Whew!

This is the best way to buy a car.

 

[dynamox]

Thank you guys. After test driving the car doing everything else online.

It's interesting to see that some dealers will quote $899 for documentation fee and others $699. Apparently there is wiggle room.



One dealer has the following add-ons below, seems kind of steep to me. If i add these up myself (minus the tint ..i don't know how much it costs) i get ~$426. Does tint really cost ~$700?

Mudguards, wheel locks, trunk tray, 3m door edge film, window tint +$1,100.00*

 

[mgldan]

Doc fees vary by state. Some states have a legally imposed maximum. In NY that max is $75. I think they probably increase the base price of the car to compensate anyway.

You can install mudguards, wheel locks, and the trunk tray yourself if you want. The instructions are at College Hills Honda, Bernardi Parts, and other OEM vendors. Super simple. Buy them yourself afterwards if you want them, and spare yourself overpriced dealer labor.

 

[Mr. Natural]

In Minnesota the max doc fee is $100.

 

[dynamox]

I got quotes from 7 dealers around my area. For a touring without add-ons I see quotes around $29,700 OTD (plus/minus $200) Do i counter-offer, seat and wait for them to get more aggressive if they really want to sell before end of months. What's the best strategy at this point?

Thank you

 

[mgldan]

Are you a Costco member? I was able to get a pretty decent starting quote through Costco Auto, and I shopped it around to get a lower OTD quote.

I think you have to expand the zone a little bit. Internet quotes are free! Pick dealers that are within an hour's driving distance, then maybe pick one or two that are farther out, and get their Internet price. Explain to your local dealers that for something as expensive as a car, you are willing to shop around, especially if it will represent a $1-2k savings. That is totally worth your time. Think of the hourly rate you're paying yourself.

You can try taking the best offer to the second best offer to see if they will beat it. They might drop a few hundred dollars if it means a sale today. But I still think you should Internet shop more.

I have heard of people playing with color to get lower prices, but I don't quite understand how that works. None of the dealers I worked with ever talked about needing to charge more to locate a color that wasn't on the lot.

 

[J. Bond]

Dynamox, keep us posted. Would be interested in hearing about your next steps and what you did!

 

[Verdier]

Are you a Costco member? I was able to get a pretty decent starting quote through Costco Auto, and I shopped it around to get a lower OTD quote.

I think you have to expand the zone a little bit. Internet quotes are free! Pick dealers that are within an hour's driving distance, then maybe pick one or two that are farther out, and get their Internet price. Explain to your local dealers that for something as expensive as a car, you are willing to shop around, especially if it will represent a $1-2k savings. That is totally worth your time. Think of the hourly rate you're paying yourself. 🙂

You can try taking the best offer to the second best offer to see if they will beat it. They might drop a few hundred dollars if it means a sale today. But I still think you should Internet shop more.

I have heard of people playing with color to get lower prices, but I don't quite understand how that works. None of the dealers I worked with ever talked about needing to charge more to locate a color that wasn't on the lot.

Some will charge you a fee for a color not on the lot. Dealer swaps are very dependant on each dealer's attitude and how far away the car is. When I was insisting on a particular color I remember the salesman looking for it and lamenting out loud that the particular dealer who had my color was very difficult to swap with. In fact, two separate places told me the same thing about that dealer. Also keep in mind guys if they do a dealer swap they will have to go down and drive it up so depending on how far it is you'll have a few extra miles on your car in the end.

 

[Mr. Natural]

My dealer attempted to use having to go get the color I wanted from another dealer as a reason to get more for it. I already knew where the other dealer was, so I asked why I shouldn’t just go buy it from them. That ended the price increase right there and then.

 

[mgldan]

Also keep in mind guys if they do a dealer swap they will have to go down and drive it up so depending on how far it is you'll have a few extra miles on your car in the end.

Are you sure they wouldn't ship the car instead? Driving the car means they have extra detailing work to do when it arrives. Also not sure what plates they'd put on the car while they're driving it.

My NY dealer swapped with a CT dealer to get my car. It had 53 miles on the odometer, which is enough that maybe they drove the car themselves, or maybe it just had a lot of test drives on it.

My dealer attempted to use having to go get the color I wanted from another dealer as a reason to get more for it. I already knew where the other dealer was, so I asked why I shouldn’t just go buy it from them. That ended the price increase right there and then.

Yeah, exactly. You can see dealers' inventory online, too--they WANT you to come in, right? If you have an OTD offer on paper and then your dealer wants extra for the color you want, tell them you'll bring the OTD offer to the dealer that has your color already. They won't want to let you leave.

 

[Mr. Natural]

Mine had 127 miles on it and the distance between dealers was about 70 miles. So I’m guessing they drove it to make the swap.